If anyone wants to know why the Mercedes W124 and W201 were considered so influential in their day, consider their predecessor, the W123. Conservative even by German standards, these iconic cars need no introduction and, with 2.7 million made over ten years, are still plentiful. I was quite happy to find this blue, top-of-the line example from the final year of the production run and have to applaud Virginia for continuing to make such elegant license plates with characters actually stamped into the metal. They’re certainly a more fitting complement to this sedan’s classic lines than the non-standard turn signal lenses seen here.

Where the models which followed the W123 followed the aerodynamic rule book, even raising the bar, these cars were rather staid even when new, representing the final chapter in Mercedes’ book on the post-war sedan. Note the very small tail fins, a vestige of the once significant American influence on the West German automobile.

Despite being the first Benz styled under Bruno Sacco, the need to fit the car into the existing lineup meant it continued in the footsteps of the W108/9 and W114/5, and was especially influenced by the low and wide W116 S-class. The lack of a wedge shape lends these cars a deceptively compact appearance, but they were larger than earlier models, with a 110 inch wheelbase (about 107 inches for the coupe).

While the W123 is sought after for its rustic charm, Mercedes didn’t set out to make an anticar. They were simply getting the most mileage out of existing styling and engineering themes in a car which fulfilled an uncommonly diverse array of roles, from underpinning an upmarket coupe to serving as an ambulance, as well as a taxicab and an executive sedan. In this case, the engineering was largely a refinement of concepts first introduced in the “stroke-8” models of 1968, also known as the W114 (six cylinder) and W115 (four-cylinder and diesel, sans front subframe). With semi-trailing arms in the rear and a hefty safety cage with crumple zones, it remained thoroughly up-to-date under the skin. The biggest departure from predecessors was the deletion of a front subframe from the most expensive models, which joined their more plebeian brethren in directly mounting major mechanicals to the main structural components.

Legendary Mercedes engineering notwithstanding, straight line motivation in US-market models was a problem. The 240Ds and non-turbo 300Ds were obviously slow. The initial alternative was the 280E, which in US form, was rather disappointing, with 140 horsepower pushing 3300 pounds. A bigger issue, though, was the transmission’s second-gear start and a 1-2 upshift which occurred at around 4500rpm, well before the power peak. As the company always tuned its engines to deliver the most power in the upper midrange, highway performance was good for the era, but for American conditions, especially during the double-nickel era, better low-end response was needed.

All of this helps to explain why Mercedes found it wise to replace the 280E with the 300D turbodiesel in 1982. With its beefier low-end and first-gear start, it was punchier in American suburban traffic. Given the 280E’s prodigious drinking habit, and the fact that GM was heavily advertising diesels at the same time that VW was able to sell Rabbits with substantial mark-ups, this approach made sense. Our featured car, a 1985 model, received a much taller rear axle ratio to boost economy along with a higher torque converter stall speed to help the turbocharger boost more rapidly.

The 300D turbodiesel was never, however, an especially miserly car and despite such efforts to improve its efficiency, I suspect many buyers would’ve been better off in a Volvo with a 2.1 liter turbocharged gas engine, which would have more cheaply and effectively validated both their social conscience and (secret) need for performance. If that strikes readers as too agricultural a car to compare to the Benz, it’s important to note the Peugeot 505 was still available in those days and didn’t suffer from the brittle quality its front-drive successors were known for. I don’t even need to mention the BMW E12 and E28.

Now time for a confession: modern day fans of the W123 qualify in my mind as some of the most sentimental enthusiasts, with an embrace of cloying stereotypes which ranks right up there with lovers of the Saab 900 and Volvo 240. Claims of 40 mpg and iron-clad reliability are common, so allow me this opportunity to dispel such myths. As much as I love these cars, it’s important to understand what they are and what they are not.

They are not the most reliable cars in the world. Any decent car will last 500,000 miles if a loving owner replaces major components as they break. I would wager that a large number might even do so with less fuss and expense than a W123, if one focuses purely on mechanicals (and not body hardware, where the Mercedes has a genuine advantage). The reputation for dependability these cars enjoy stems from the fact that they were sold alongside luxury cars from Detroit during an era when six-digit odometers were a rarity. The accidental charm they possess prompts their continued repair and resale while their hugely influential successors, on the other hand, do not benefit from the same affinity.

Nor were these cars designed with the aim of slow acceleration, or to make some sort of statement against crass displays of performance. The addition of a turbocharger was a grudging admission that diesel efficiency alone was not going to be enough to sell these cars in the face of more powerful competition and slowly falling oil prices.

I would love to have a chance to share my feelings with the car’s current owners, but I get the idea there is no need to do so. It seems whoever owns this car respects it for what it is: a very solid, stable way to go about the business of daily driving. Its clean condition and lack of corny bumper stickers show an appreciation for (gasp!) material possessions, quite a contrast to the other W123s I see clattering around town, invariably with an occupant’s filthy shoe resting on the dashboard.

As you might gather, Mercedes had every reason to make major changes once this car was due to be replaced. The amazing W124 which came afterward is not favored by the hipsters who are driving up values of the W123 today. In some ways, this is unfortunate, because it singularly focuses their attention on the earlier model, leading many studiously fashionable types who buy into stories of unmatched reliability and green credibility to drive them into the ground. On the plus side, the W124s are at the bottom of their depreciation curve, and can be snapped up in good condition for less than the older car.

If you are able to appreciate the W123 for its charms; namely safety, stability, comfortable ride quality over rough surfaces (increasingly relevant given our dwindling public expenditures) and classic style, by all means buy one, keep it maintained and cruise around on a warm summer night with the gigantic sunroof open. If you expect real luxury and cheap, reliable operation, there are better options. In the meantime, let’s hope fewer of these cars are sacrificed to an unsavvy buyer’s pursuit of fashion and that instead, more passionate drivers bring out their true potential.

62 Comments

Before I bought my W116 I looked and looked for a decent W123 wagon. At the time all I could find were 230 engined versions. These cars are still quite visible in Melbourne, but the CE versions seem to be the only ones receiving constant attention.

Great article, Perry. This is definitely an MB that has slipped through the gaps. I’m still trying to uncode the headlight thing. Over here, I think the roundies featured on the smaller engined models.

p.s. is it me, or do the hipsters photographed in that article carry a slight whiff of wankeur?

I briefly considered buying one of these for my first new car in 1985. I harbored the idea that I could buy a super-basic Mercedes and drive it forever. Then I determined that I would need a mortgage instead of a car loan. I was sad to find that there was no longer such a thing as a strippo Benz with a gas 4 cylinder, a stick and crank windows, at least not in the U.S. Also, there was no gas engine offered at all, only diesel, which I found mystifying at the time.

There is still some mystique about this model that has a strange hold on me.

In Europe, the round headlights were standard up to 1979, with the exception of 280E, but after that all cars had rectangular ones. I, for one, like the earlier ones better.

I remember these were pretty common in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, although almost exclusively in 200D, 220D, 240D form. It didn’t matter, they still were a symbol that you’ve made it. By the 2000s they were gone from the streets, i guess eastern european maintenence habbits were to blame. Rust was in this too, especially the pre 1979 models.

I was in love with these cars and considered buying one about 5 years ago in Germany. I wanted a diesel wagon, but, as in the US, the prices kept getting higher and higher, even rusty ones. So I decided to go for a basic, crank windows W124. It was definetly the right decision.

You have just covered, in a rare evenhanded way, one of my favorite cars of all time. Mentioning the W123 300D Turbodiesel’s good points while forgetting to mention that they still break down and require repairs is the norm about this model today, in much the same way that the inconvenient fact that supermodels still have to poop is rarely mentioned. That said, I have been interested in getting one of these for almost a decade and have test driven enough new-looking examples to understand how they drive after 30 years of very good or indifferent maintenance and repair, and the well maintained examples are a real joy to drive and clearly ahead of their time. Their survival rate has to be one of the best of all time, which says something about the basic ruggedness of the design and their quality of materials and workmanship.

There is only one instance where I disagree with your commentary. In the Washington, DC/Virginia/Maryland region where I live, and where the featured car came from, these cars are not young hipster rides at all; they are most commonly driven by crotchety middle aged to elderly men. No bumper stickers and a gray haired driver are typical for these cars here. You may recall that in the movie “Burn After Reading,” the bitter old CIA agent character played by John Malkovich drove a W123 diesel; that choice of car was right on the money for the person and place. No doubt a few young people around here have them, and have ruined them with veggie oil conversions, but in this respect the East Coast appears to differ from Paul’s Pacific Northwest and many other regions of the country.

You are spot-on with your description about the types of folks who drive W123 diesels. I also live in the Washington metropolitan area (Northern VA) and notice these vehicles still chugging along just fine.

In fact, I was just at a book reading last night and had the good fortune to be seated next to my dentist (a big-time car enthusiast). He was telling me about his dearly-missed 1982 300D, which he regrets selling, but had to because rust was taking hold of it pretty quickly (this was back in around ’03). He also said that his current Mercedes – a ’99 W210 E320 wagon – has nowhere near the solid build quality that his W123 had, and doesn’t expect it to reach 280k miles (the total mileage of the 300D) as reliably as the older car. To this day, he says that the W123 was, and is, the best car he ever owned.

All things considered, in my opinion the 1981-85 300D has always been one of the most practical automobiles in function and appearance ever made. A well cared for example was “almost” bulletproof as they were just fancy tractors.

Couldn’t agree with you more. Bought a ten year old orphan , 1980 200D from a Mercedes showroom with almost no kilometers on it , drove it for thirty years , and after it finally died , had to buy another one. I consider this car to be the best mass produced unit ever made !

You may be right. I recall that up to the very late 1960’s or even the very early 1970’s, most MBs were manual, and A/C was rare. Why? I remember reading that it was very hard to beat the domestics in the areas of auto air conditioning and automatic transmissions – theirs simply weren’t good enough for prime time.

Agreed; no stick with the turbo diesel. And I even have serious doubts about the 300 diesel being available in the US with a stick; at least I never recall seeing one that way. I’d have to look it up to be sure. The 240D of course came standard with a stick.

A classmate and friend of mine in college had an ’83 240D. He let me drive it on one occasion when I had to go get pizza for a retreat party. Even with the gas pedal floored, I swear I could measure 0-60 with an egg timer (I’m not joking). And seriously, even my recently-acquired ’86 Volvo 740 GLE could spank that old 240D from a standstill at a stoplight.

I got to drive an M-B just once in my life, a 240D across the company parking lot (an errand for my supervisor). That was enough to learn they were indeed special; I remember the nicely-weighted power steering & pulling up the stick shift to reverse – nice design!

I’ve got an ’82 300D Turbo Diesel stick!…Wasn’t looking for one, wasn’t even looking for a MB…just came across it for a giod good price…paid $1800.00 and it has just under 500,000 k…had it for 4 yrs now

Even if my job is defending people (I’m a lawyer), I really suck at defending my own interests : I usually pay over the price when I am buying and sell under the price when I am selling ! And I usually don’t haggle…

Moreover, because of their strong reputation of solidity, on the one hand, and the lack of interest from car collectors, on the other hand, old diesel Mercedeses are usually driven to the ground.

As a result, finding a mint 1st owner loved and cared low miles diesel Mercedes can be quite difficult and expensive.

And, with transportation costs, taxes, euro-dollar exchange rates and the obligation to convert them to US specifications (headlights, pollution and so forth), I don’t know if importing french or european Mercedeses to the United States would be actually profitable.

The 123 was from the era where diesel engines from Mercedes lasted a lot longer than their gas. Since most 123s were sold with diesel, at least out here in California, there are still plenty available in the used car market.

However they are not more expensive than the 124 diesels, not by a long shot. MB sold about 20 times more diesels in the 123 model than they did in the 124. Several years of the 124 did not even offer a diesel. Therefore 124 diesels are very hard to find and insanely expensive.

A 124 gas may be a bit cheaper than a 123 diesel but not by much. For the most part 280Es are long gone.

I always learn something new from a CC article and this excellent one from Perry was no exception. I did not know, and was surprised, that Bruno Sacco was involved in the 123. It does not look like his later masterworks (the 201 and 124) and I have always found the 123 to be rather homely. I honestly thought the engineering department designed it.

Sixteen years later, and I still miss my red 1985 300D, bought off the wholesale lot of the local Chrysler store in 1998 for a grand sum of $1200. I only owned it four months, but what a car.

245,000 miles, original turbo, non-rebuilt engine. A new rear half-shaft, a thorough detail and some much-needed paint touch-up brought it back to fine condition. Although flipping it hadn’t been my intention, a friend soon convinced me to sell it to her for $3500, roughly halfway between what I had in it, and what I thought I could get for it at retail from the right buyer.

I would imagine the prior owners regret letting the Benz go, as well. They traded it for… a Plymouth Breeze.

You’re so right, and 124’s are the same. When I had a 250D, I debadged it so that any export thieves would think its just a petrol 200. Now, I have a 190 which for some reason is nowhere near as desirable but that’s fine with me- its the best ’80s Merc out there.

A balanced informative post. Excellent! For those of us that tire of general U.S. car bashing in this era, this presents what a lot of us knew – there were trade-off buying cars like this and that if a person walked with care through a domestic showroom at the time, they could find comfortable, competitively reliable transportation that was usually more cost effective – an important factor for people not among the top 10 percent of income earners.

Survival rates of these are no doubt helped by first owners who could afford correct servicing as these were very expensive new compared with run o the mill cars most people bought new, The headlights are a mystery on these cars to me as a local hoon has one with rectangular lights and a spares wreck with round though they appear to be the same model.

I wish I could say that I’ve ridden in a Mercedes-Benz 300D. I’ve always liked Mercedes-Benz diesel engine. Not only does it get better fuel economy than the same car with a gasoline engine, but they’re also durable. I like that. They’re relatively simple to maintain, unlike today’s diesel engines. I also like the looks of the W123 line of Mercedes-Benz. My favourite has always been the 300TD station wagon. 🙂

My wife’s uncle here in NJ bought a brown ’85 300D sedan new, it’s still on the road today, 340k miles and counting! Other than the a/ c not working, the car runs great! No visible rust on the body, which is amazing considering the car has spent its whole life in northern New Jersey, and not in a garage!

I love the 240D and 300D. I went out looking for one a few years ago and could not find one that looked decent for a good price. I settled with the other classic conservative Euro car: the Volvo 240DL. Both cars are of a classic style and both cars are easy to work on with a few wrenches, sockets and a bit of devotion.

I wanted a 240D with a stick and manual windows. For me it would be a occasional commuter car and a nice car for the weekends(yes it is not fast but it could hold its own with the morons that think because they have a big ass SUV that they have every right to tailgate you(people give my 240DL a wide berth on the roads) )

Perry- you’re very right about these being overrated compared to the much improved later cars. Both the 124 and 201 were better cars in just about every way. Most importantly, later cars didn’t rust anywhere near as badly as the 123. Every time I’ve looked to buy a 123, I always ended up with a different Benz- first a 126 300SE, then a 250D 124, and latest my 201 190E. For half the money, you can get a much better car from any other series, even if it doesn’t have the hipster cred of a witty t-shirt two sizes too small.

I bought a ’77 300d about 10 years ago for my teenage son. It was a great car for a teenager–slow and built like a tank. I do remember being taken aback by the cost of parts. Getting the heater to work properly cost over $700. The vinyl seats were filled with some kind of natural material, and at that age, that material was disintegrating into a fine dust. Even though the car had only 67k miles, an inspection by the mechanic revealed that the camshaft was wearing unevenly. Sadly, before I could sink any further money into it, my son hit a deer and totaled it.

“Built like a tank”. They still are or at least the old A Class is. My wife got a rear end shunt from a car doing 10 mph. Not a mark on it!. The “bumper” is a steel girder the size of a house one. No 5mph rams nothing.. The last of the affordable
Mercs. The current A class build quality is no better than an Astra!. Will miss it when it goes back off lease.

I remember driving one years ago belonging to an elderly neighbor. He bragged about it endlessly about how great it was. I had to drive him from Massachusetts to new York city. I was excited to drive it. I guess I was expecting something better than a Lincoln or Cadillac.

What a dissapointment. The leather seat was like a park bench. Hard as a rock. All the switches had undecipherable icons on them. It had a thick steering wheel and the interior was plain and unattractive. The engine sounded like a cement mixer. I backed up through a stinking cloud of smoke and out on the road I went.

As I accelerated it got louder. It rode and steered awful like a 1975 dodge pick up with no power steering. It cornered strangely no lean at all. And it was slow as in glacial. A 4.1 in a big Cadillac would out run it. It did have awesome brakes though. It was a horrible car to go on a long trip in. I was so glad to get out of that awful car. Definitely not a luxury car. I have to think that Benz lovers must be crazy. They cost a fortune to own and maintain and you have the sedan equivalent of a mid 70s strippo version of a dodge truck with better brakes and worse performance than a slant 6. Also the interior and front header was ugly. These do not compare to a town car or even a 6 cyl impala. This car is no more impressive than a Fairmont. Thank god o got to ride Amtrak home.

Rest of the world a durable taxi cab and quality family car. MB USA marketed them
as a luxury car to make the money.
The seats are hard so they support the back on long Autobarn journeys at 90 mph,even when it took 50 secs to get there!. My 2013 A160cdi the same.When was the last time you had to down shift ,foot to the floor to climb a slight hill fully laden?.

Nate I thought that Mercedes from the 80s had inadequate a/c for those of us in the southern tier of the US. I am basing this on my own experience with BMWs and Volvos of that period.
What makes the a/c on your MB so effective?

There’s no real ‘ secret ‘ , just the basics of proper maintenance , few ever bother to periodically clean the evaporator core and it gets clogged up with dust and crud , reducing air flow and volume significantly .

Also , the condenser accumulates oily residue on the back side where you can’t see it unless you remove it or the radiator ~ I periodically soak both radiator and condenser with foamy soap or de greaser then allow to soak a while before blasting clean with a garden hose then follow up with the air blower to blow out old leaves , dead bugs , that black fluffy stuff etc.

The evaporator core is a bit trickier but once the HVAC fan motor is out for routine brush replacement (why it only runs on high) , you can get access to the plenum and use ‘ Fridgi-Kleen ‘ or other evaporator cleaner then rinse it all out through the drain hole .

The final thing is : R-12 ~ yes it’s still available and not terribly expen$ive , I pay $20 the can .

I’ll admit , the 240D does get up to 70° F in the Desert when I have it fully loaded with five full size adults but I can deal with 70¯ F .

I am considering a Sanden compressor upgrade to my 5 cylinder turbo charged Coupe , they use less HP to run and a Delco R4 compressor that’s 30 years old should be replaced even if it still works fine and is quiet .

Flushing the system whenever it’s apart , not adding too much oil , you know : all those basic ” time wasting ” things most ‘mechanics ‘ are simply too lazy to do , DO THEM ALL and you’ll be rewarded with ice cold AC just like GM designed =8-) .

I hope you understand I’m talking about Klima II , not the wretched Klima I (5 vertical buttons) which is in fact Chrysler’s old Air Temp II system with the EVIL SERVO FROM HELL used under license ~ that system blows even colder AC but once you’ve mastered it (shudder) you’ll be wise to sell that car and buy a newer one with Klima II or a basic model that has the rotary controls ~ that’s the best HVAC of all in the Ma ‘Benz World .

There were gas-powered Benzes in ’82, but only in the luxury-gap S-series and with only one engine: the 3.8L V-8 (380SEC, 380SEL), which replaced the 4.5L V-8 the previous year.

In 1984, the aging 240D was replaced by the 190D 2.2, which was actually smaller than the previous model. A gas-powered version, the 190E 2.3, became the first four-cylinder gas-powered (and fuel-injected at that) Benz in the U.S. since the 230.4 last sold for 1978.

Also in ’84, the S-series lineup was overhauled: a new 5.0L V-8 was used in that year’s new 500SEC and 500SEL models, while the previous 3.8L V-8 hung for this year in the 380SE, a one-year-only sedan model that combined the looks of the 300SD with the 3.8L.

In 1986, the E-series lineup was overhauled: gone was the W123 body, replaced by the more aero W124 body. The first model of this mid-size generation in the U.S. started with the 300E, which used a 3.0 liter in-line six-cylinder gas engine, which became the first such model to do so in the U.S. since the 280E last sold in 1981.

On the diesel front, only two models existed in the U.S. for 1986: the 190D 2.2 was still being offered on the compact side, but the personal-luxury side offered the 300SDL, which now used a six-cylinder 3.0L turbo diesel engine and the additional “L” in the model nomenclature meant the body was obviously slightly lengthier than the previous 300SD despite using the same W126 body/chassis.

1987 would see three additional diesel Benzes: on the compact side, we were treated to the rare 190D 2.5 Turbo, which used a 2.5L five-cylinder derivative of the new 3.0L turbo diesel engine; while the turbo 3.0L unit was extended in availability to two new intermediates: the 300D and 300TD.

All three of these diesel offerings along with the year-old 300SDL would be dropped for 1988, two of which would see gas-powered derivatives in their place: the 300TE and the 300SEL (not to be confused with the older ’60s-era model). The former was the first gas-powered Benz wagon to be sold in the U.S. while the latter was aimed at customers who’d been looking for a six-cylinder S-series sedan since the 280SE.

Very nice tribute. Honest and accurate. I purchased a 123 3 years ago because I missed owning a German car and because I needed a reasonable cost/benefit car to drive to the track where I work. I am sure I saved this particular car from a recycle scenario.
With a new battery it started and I drove it off of the tow dolly. The previous owner believed it to be horribly lacking in speed but he regretted having to sell it. I began the journey required to learn the subtleties of tuning these cars and eventually brought it back to proper tune.
At this point it is my primary ride out of the “fleet”. It has become the go-to ride for most activities including the occasional track laps. After 50k miles and occasional mechanical attention it has proven to be a great all rounder.
If luxury consists in having an automobile that does what you want when you want it at a reasonable cost/benefit proposition then this is luxury. This car was never intended to be a high zoot ride that coddles it’s occupants. These cars are not the ones to seek out if you like the idea of the “Mercedes” image. In reality the 123 represents what a car can be if you avoid compromise and apply the lessons from decades of manufacturing and design. If you get it this is a deeply satisfying automobile.
Congratulations on your acquisition. It looks like a great car. Enjoy!

I think the W123 in general should have a better reputation for reliability, especially the diesels. There are definitely people out there who take care of them, but there are still many who buy them and don’t give these cars the meticulous and careful maintenance they need (and deserve!).